Microsoft Fights Request for Windows Code

Microsoft Corp. is fighting government efforts to obtain the blueprints for its Windows operating-system software and to spend two days interviewing Chief Executive Bill Gates about the federal antitrust case. In a court filing, the company called those blueprints the “software equivalent to the formula for Coca-Cola.” It called the government’s request for two days with Gates an “unfair and misguided imposition on Mr. Gates’ time.” The Justice Department and 20 states suing Microsoft complained in court papers last week that Microsoft won’t turn over the blueprints without “oppressive” restrictions and that it refuses to offer Gates for more than eight hours of interviews next week. The legal wrangling focuses on evidence and testimony expected to be used during the September trial. The Windows source code could be pivotal for the government, which contends that Microsoft has illegally tied the use of its Internet browser to the sale of Windows. The government wants to prove they are separate software programs combined only to hurt rivals, such as Netscape Communications Corp. Microsoft argues that the browser is legally integrated with Windows.